Joyce Ekeh
Nigeria’s economy accelerated in the second quarter of 2026, with real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rising to 4.43 per cent year-on-year, up from 4.23 per cent recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday.
The latest growth figure was driven by stronger performances in both the oil and non-oil sectors, which expanded by 7.31 per cent and 4.31 per cent, respectively, according to the NBS Q2’26 GDP report.
The bureau said agriculture, services and oil production recorded notable gains during the quarter, although industrial growth slowed sharply compared with a year earlier.
“GDP grew by 4.43 percent YoY in real terms in Q2’26, higher than the 4.23 percent recorded in Q2’25,” the NBS said.
Agriculture recorded the strongest improvement among the major sectors, growing by 4.39 per cent, compared with 2.82 per cent in Q2’25. Services also expanded by 4.60 per cent, up from 3.94 per cent, while industry growth fell to 3.96 per cent from 7.46 per cent in the same period last year.
The services sector remained the dominant contributor to economic output, accounting for 56.62 per cent of real GDP in Q2’26, marginally higher than the 56.53 per cent recorded in Q2’25.
Oil output rises
The oil sector recorded a significant rebound during the quarter, supported by higher crude oil production.
According to the NBS, average daily oil production climbed to 1.72 million barrels per day (mbpd) in Q2’26, compared with 1.68mbpd in Q2’25 and 1.55mbpd in Q1’26.
Real oil-sector growth stood at 7.31 per cent year-on-year, compared with 20.46 per cent in Q2’25. However, the sector performed substantially better than the 2.57 per cent growth recorded in Q1’26.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the oil sector grew by 10.91 per cent.
The NBS said: “Growth increased by 4.74 percentage points when compared to Q1’26, which was 2.57 per cent. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the oil sector recorded a growth rate of 10.91 per cent in Q2’26.”
Oil’s contribution to total real GDP also increased to 4.16 per cent, from 4.05 per cent in Q2’25 and 3.92 per cent in Q1’26.
Non-oil sector sustains momentum
The non-oil economy continued to provide the bulk of Nigeria’s output, growing by 4.31 per cent in Q2’26.
The NBS said the performance represented an improvement from the 3.64 per cent recorded in Q2’25 and the 3.94 per cent achieved in Q1’26.
The bureau attributed the expansion principally to crop production, telecommunications, real estate, trade, financial institutions, cement manufacturing and construction.
“The non-oil sector contributed 95.84 percent to the nation’s GDP in the second quarter of 2026,” the NBS said.
However, its share was slightly lower than the 95.95 per cent recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025 and 96.08 per cent in Q1’26.
The latest figures point to a broader-based expansion of the Nigerian economy, with stronger agricultural and services activity complementing the recovery in oil production, even as the slowdown in industry growth remains a concern.
